Make Time For This Legendary Stephen King Movie Before It: Welcome to Derry's Next Episode
The series It: Welcome to Derry is filled with references to the author's wide-ranging universe of narratives. Apart from the obvious links to It, the show includes a direct connection to King's famous novel via the cameo of the youthful Dick Hallorann. Currently, as the narrative unfolds, It: Welcome to Derry is integrating another classic tale from King which merits another look.
The Powerful Tale of The Shawshank Redemption
Although Shawshank Redemption isn't typically classified as a horror film, especially in contrast with much of King's other writing, it remains a haunting tale of a wrongfully convicted individual sentenced to live the rest of his life in a notorious penitentiary. It is this specific penitentiary that becomes important in this context, as Shawshank State Prison holds considerable lore across King's fictional world — a pattern which persists within Welcome to Derry.
Among the tales that reference Shawshank are Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, Apt Pupil, 11/22/63, as well as It. Via these narratives, we learn about the terrible conditions at Shawshank State Prison plus several of those imprisoned within, including the partner of a of Pennywise's early victims, who was convicted of armed robbery.
So far, though, the majority we have discovered concerning Shawshank was through the perspective of the protagonist from Shawshank Redemption, portrayed by the actor Tim Robbins in the 1994 movie. Andy ends up at the prison after being wrongly convicted, then experiences assaulted and raped by other prisoners, while taken advantage of by the authority figures due to his financial knowledge. It takes nearly three decades to dig an escape route of the prison, before crawling "through a river of shit" to take back his liberty.
Shawshank's Appearance in It: Welcome to Derry
In relation to the series, audiences initially discovered of Shawshank's inclusion via an early trailer for the series, where a prison bus appeared with the name painted on the side. In episode 2, we learn who is probably destined for Shawshank.
Although it is known he did not commit the child deaths in the first episode, the character Hank Grogan (Stephen Rider), dad to Ronnie (Amanda Christine), gets taken into custody for the crimes. The preview for the next episode, "Now You See It," reveals an officer telling a jailed Hank, "Do you know what happens to kiddie killers in Shawshank?"
The Implications for the Character and Ronnie
Given that the real murderer in Derry is a primordial entity from another world preying on and murdering kids, Hank's prospects of proving his innocence appear slim. Even should he ends up to Shawshank and the audience don't follow him there, understanding what we do regarding Shawshank makes it clear that his time there would be far from enjoyable.
More importantly, though, this development would endanger his daughter. Hank is her guardian. Horrible things are happening in the town which no one, child or adult, understands and she just has her recently formed circle of pals to rely on. She will require her dad in the coming episodes, but if the prison system has any say, she may be without help.
One thing seems clear: Hank doesn’t have three decades to tunnel to freedom.
Welcome to Derry episodes 1 and 2 are streaming now on HBO Max. New episodes air weekly on Sundays.
